Otskhanuri sapere, Monastery Wines, khareba, 2010

This wine – made in churi (Western Georgian for qvevri) from the Otskhanuri sapere variety of grape local to Imereti – is a rarity. This is a very young wine with a lively appearance, raspberry-red with a lilac sheen. Penetrating acidity. First aromas of vegetation followed by thyme, damson plums and ripe berries such as black hawthorn. Quite a full-bodied wine, long finish, and leaves a persistent high-water mark on the edges of the glass. It is interesting to wonder what this wine might be like in a few years' time.

© Malkhaz Kharbedia / Georgian Wine Guide